New Castle County advisory board approves policy update and $207,061 in impact-fee funding

The Fire and Ambulance Advisory Board of New Castle County met April 16, 2026, at the Public Safety Building in New Castle and approved a series of administrative and funding measures intended to support local fire and EMS operations.

Chairman Dennis Godek said the Leadership Committee will continue regular meetings and reported that a joint Presidents and Chiefs meeting supported moving forward with the County Executive’s proposed budget without additional legislative intervention. The board voted unanimously to ratify a revised "1040 Policy" that had been implemented administratively because of meeting delays.

The approvals included five impact-fee funding requests presented by Robert A. Weber, Sr. and moved by Weber or Michael Shaw with seconds from other board members. The board approved: Odessa Fire Company’s request for $20,713.88 to buy a third LUCAS device; Holloway Terrace Fire Company’s $73,313.10 request to build 12 bunk rooms to support 24/7 staffing; Cranston Heights Fire Company’s $63,669.76 request for battery-operated rescue equipment; Good Will Fire Company’s $399.98 request to replace two iPads; and Elsmere Fire Company’s $48,964.40 request for hose, rescue equipment and four Cradle Point installations. All five motions were seconded and carried unanimously. The approved requests total $207,061.12.

Members also discussed a communications hardware issue: on behalf of Assistant Chief Chris Williams, Chairman Godek reported that Cradle Point cellular devices purchased five years ago are reaching subscription expirations. According to the report, 50 units have already expired, another 75 will expire within a month, and a further 50 units will expire shortly thereafter; expiration causes loss of GPS tracking and remote management even though Wi‑Fi and CAD functions remain operational. Chief Williams is working with the county to secure roughly $20,000 for a one‑year renewal to preserve critical remote management while a long‑term solution is developed; affected companies will be notified and updates are expected at the May County Chiefs’ meeting.

Captain Dave Aber delivered the Emergency Medical Services report and provided year-to-date operational figures for 2026: 11,428 responses (about 1,000 fewer than the same period last year), 5,857 transports, 838 cancellations (10.3%), 241 Narcan administrations (about a 48–50% decrease from the prior year) and 351 blood administrations since the program began (50 in 2026). He reported staffing activity across multiple academies (several recruits in field training, offers extended for an upcoming academy and lower-than-expected interest prompting a deadline extension for another) and noted retirements and one resignation.

Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Kenny Dunn said a draft Memorandum of Agreement has been circulated with amounts pending budget approval, and reminded members that the Public Safety Budget Hearing is scheduled for April 23, 2026, at 2 p.m. He also noted the Paramedic 50th Anniversary event was tentatively moved to Oct. 2.

During district reports, District 2 noted the Cradle Point expiration notifications are underway and District 3 described mutual-aid responses to apparatus outages and continuing regional service challenges. A public commenter raised concerns about a long-standing ambulance funding deficit, citing a $5.2 million shortfall in 2012 and requested county-level tracking of ambulance expense data; the commenter also submitted a written proposal for Leadership Committee review.

The meeting adjourned at 7:46 p.m.

Votes at a glance: Approval of February 19, 2026 minutes (moved: Michael Shaw; second: Brian Reeder): unanimous, motion carried. Approval of 1040 Policy Update (moved: Eric Haley; second: Michael Shaw): unanimous, motion carried. Impact-fee approvals (movers: Robert A. Weber, Sr.; seconds: Michael Shaw or Brian Reeder): all unanimous, motions carried.